Earthquake rocks Taiwan; fire and other damage reported

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan Thursday, causing a fire at a factory, the collapse of several houses and the injury of at least one person, seismologists and police said, dpa reported.

The quake, centred in the county of Kaohsiung, some 400 kilometers south of Taipei, struck at a depth of 5 kilometers at 8:18 am (0018 GMT), officials of the Central Weather Bureau's earthquake centre said.

"It was the first time in 100 years any earthquake of over 6 magnitude had struck in Chiahsin Township in Kaohsiung county," Lu Pei-ling, deputy director of the centre, said.

The quake was followed by 14 major aftershocks, with seven measuring more than 4 on the Richter scale, including a 4.8-magnitude one, she said.

The earthquake sent panicked residents into the streets, according to TV reports in Taiwan.

Police reported a fire at a large textile factory in the southern county of Tainan, another fire at a residence in the southern county of Chiayi, as well as the collapse of three houses in southern Taiwan.

One woman was injured when a farmhouse wall collapsed in Chiayi, police said.

There were several minor landslides in the mountain area of Kaohsiung and police had to seal off a bridge in nearby Pingtung county because of a crack in the structure.